Scan blindness in infinite phased arrays of printed dipoles

A comprehensive study of infinite phased arrays of printed dipole antennas is presented, with emphasis on the scan blindness phenomenon. A rigorus and efficient moment method procedure is used to calculate the array impedance versus scan angle. Data are presented for the input reflection coefficient for various element spacings and substrate parameters. A simple theory, based on coupling from Floquet modes to surface wave modes on the substrate, is shown to predict the occurrence of scan blindness. Measurements from a waveguide simulator of a blindness condition confirm the theory.     

Considerations for efficient wire/surface modeling

The most significant aspects of a moment method surface patch/wire formulation are speed, accuracy, convergence, and versatility. Techniques for improving these parameters are discussed and applied to a solution based on the piecewise sinusoidal reaction formulation.     

Correction of error in reduced sidelobe synthesis due to mutual coupling

Standard Chebyshev and Taylor reduced sidelobe synthesis techniques ignore mutual coupling, and so can lead to pattern errors where the resulting array pattern departs significantly from the desired pattern. Two methods for correcting this error are described and examples of their application to eight-element dipole arrays are presented. One approach uses characteristic modes, while the other method employs a simpler array mode and point matching. The techniques can also be applied to synthesis of nonuniform arrays.     

Optimum shape synthesis of maximum gain omnidirectional antennas

Using characteristic mode shape synthesis, some antenna surfaces and their current distributions are found which produce maximum realizable gain for rotationally symmetric omnidirectional antennas. The same shape synthesis method fails to produce antennas which have maximum endfire gain.     

Optimal Radiated Waveforms From an Arbitrary UWB Antenna

Solutions are presented for the optimal electric field waveforms radiated by an arbitrary ultrawideband (UWB) antenna. Optimization criteria include maximization of the electric field amplitude at a particular time and location, or maximization of energy density over a specified time interval at a particular location. Assuming bandpass signals, constraints are placed on the total radiated energy, the Q of the antenna, and the size of the antenna. The solution is developed using a spherical mode expansion of the fields radiated by an arbitrary antenna enclosed by a spherical mathematical surface, and optimized using variational methods. A closed-form result is obtained for the case of amplitude maximization, while an integral equation must be solved numerically for the case of energy maximization in a time interval. An interesting result from these solutions is that the shapes of the optimal radiated field waveforms are largely independent of the size of the antenna. The solutions also indicate that the antenna characteristics that provide optimum field amplitude or energy in the transient case are identical to those associated with maximum gain in the CW case.     

A shaped-beam microstrip patch reflectarray

This paper describes a microstrip reflectarray antenna designed to produce a shaped-beam coverage pattern using phase synthesis. The concept is demonstrated with a Ku-band linearly polarized reflectarray designed to provide coverage of the European continent and measured results are compared to those obtained for a previously designed shaped-reflector antenna designed for the same coverage specifications. Results validate the shaped-beam reflectarray concept, although there are disadvantages to the reflectarray such as narrow bandwidth and reduced aperture efficiency that may offset the mechanical and cost advantages of the flat surface of the reflectarray     

Analysis of two aperture-coupled cavity-backed antennas

The feasibility and performance of an aperture-coupled cavity-fed microstrip patch antenna and an aperture-coupled cavity antenna are demonstrated using reciprocity and moment method analyses, followed by practical design guidelines and equivalent circuit models. Each antenna incorporates a thick ground plane that can be useful as a heat sink for active MMIC circuitry and as structural support for thin substrates. Prototype antennas show good experimental agreement with the analyses in each case. The resonators of the aperture-coupled cavity-fed patch antenna are optimized to achieve a prototype having a measured 2:1 bandwidth of 26%. The size of the aperture-coupled cavity antenna can be easily reduced for array applications by filling the cavity with a dielectric material     

Wideband reflectarrays using artificial impedance surfaces

The gain bandwidth of a microstrip reflectarray can be substantially improved by replacing the usual layer of near-resonant patches with a simple artificial impedance surface consisting of closely spaced electrically small patches on a grounded dielectric substrate. It is shown that this approach can lead to reflectarray gain bandwidths (1 dB) in excess of 20% with a single layer of printed elements     

Microstrip antennas for SAR applications

This paper discusses various methods of implementing a shared-aperture dual-frequency dual-polarized array antenna for spaced-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) applications. After evaluating the use of several potential array architecture concepts and radiating elements, a design using interlaced C-band microstrip patches and X-band printed slot elements was chosen as the best choice for the present system requirements. Layout considerations for the two arrays and their associated feed networks are addressed in terms of a practical design. A dual-frequency (C- and X-band), dual-linear polarized SAR array antenna prototype was designed, fabricated, and tested. The principal goal of this effort was to demonstrate the viability of the dual-band dual-polarized array concept, and this has been accomplished. Test results are shown with good correlation between measured and predicted results, validating the design approach used. This work demonstrates that a dual-frequency dual-polarization SAR antenna within a single aperture is a feasible approach to meeting user requirements in future SAR spacecraft